My favorite show, “The Americans,” has gotten off to a great 3rd season. This season, one of the major focuses is on the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, and also on the American response to it. The 2 main protagonists, Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, have been running assets to gain the Soviet upper hand against American involvement with the opposition to the Soviet-backed Afghan Government. This decade of conflict, from the Saur Revolution of 1979 to Soviet troop withdrawal in 1989, has still been a major influence on foreign and domestic events in the years since and will only become even more influential.

Unfortunately, until “The Americans,” the only widely-viewed media about this conflict was the 2007 movie “Charlie Wilson’s War,” and the novels written by Khaled Hosseini.

To understand many of the world’s events beyond the basic rhetoric put out by pundits on TV, we must understand the events of the 1980s in Afghanistan. I will only focus on the events in Afghanistan until 1982, the same year Season 3 of “The Americans” is set in.

In 1973, Mohammed Daoud Khan overthrew the King, his cousin, who had ruled Afghanistan since the 1930s. This dissent began during his service in many different Afghan government positions and as Prime Minister. As Prime Minister, his major focus was on the Afghan reunification with the Pashtuns, but conflict that came with that led to his resignation. After taking power in a bloodless coup, Daoud Khan passed major reform to strengthen the military and promoted a republic in Afghanistan by naming himself President. His greatest mistake was siding with the Pashtuns over the other tribal groups in Afghanistan, which led to the direct opposition by Islamic Fundamentalists and indirect opposition by the Soviets, who Daoud Khan had tried to reduce ties with.

After the murder of Mir Akbar Khyber, a leader of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), the leading Communist Party in Afghanistan, it was the beginning of the end for Daoud Khan. The Communists gained support from the people by inflammatory speeches and other propaganda. In April 1978, the Daoud Khan government came to a violent end when PDPA rebels stormed the presidential palace and Daoud Khan was killed, putting the Communists in power.

Communist Trouble From The Beginning:

The first Communist leader to take over, Nur Muhammed Taraki, was assassinated in an inside coup by fellow PDPA member Hafizullah Amin. Distrusting Amin, the Soviets had him assassinated in December 1979, and they replaced him with the Soviet-organized government of Babrak Karmal. The Soviet government also mobilized troops to back the Karmal Government, which changed the game in the region substantially.

Public Domain. The Regions of Afghanistan The Mujahideen Fought In

Carter Administration Response And Conflict Continuation:

After the installation of Karmal by the Soviets and troop mobilization of the Red Army, American politicians- both on the Republican and Democratic sides- worried that the Soviets would begin to move further into the Middle East. The Soviet Union had long coveted a warm-water port, and the invasion of Afghanistan positioned them for further invasion possibly into Pakistan. The worry that the Soviets were moving to take over Middle Eastern oil and that the ideology behind the Iranian Revolution would spread was prominent.

Americans were ready to end détente.

When the invasion happened, and that it was certain that the Soviets were there to stay, President Jimmy Carter made really good moves and really bad ones.

The Good Moves:

• Carter ended the Soviet Wheat Deal in 1980, which was a major institute of the Détente Era.

• Carter also issued the Carter Doctrine, which was to state that, quoted from Carter’s National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski:

“An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.”

• Carter supported generous American contributions to the refugees from Afghanistan who had fled to Pakistan.

The Bad Moves:

• Carter decided to refuse to allow American Olympic athletes to participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. This caused great unhappiness among the people, who believed it would be better to beat the Soviets in medal count than to not compete at all.

• Carter also reinstated registration for the draft for young males.

Overall, I believe that Carter took very appropriate actions, and I support his good moves not because we share the same party (we do) but that they worked. Unfortunately, his bad moves, along with the Iranian Hostage Crisis, led to the election of Ronald Reagan as President in 1980.

(I will only cover the years of 1981 & 1982 here because that is the point “The Americans” has reached so far. It is not to say that the events after 1982 are unimportant. I will include some information from 1983 and on, but only limited amounts.)

The Carter Administration had authorized funding for anti-Communist fighters- Mujahideen- in Afghanistan, but under Reagan this program greatly expanded. Operation Cyclone, as it was called, became part of the larger Reagan Doctrine that supported anti-Soviet and anti-Communist resistance around the world. Partnering with similar programs initiated by Egypt, Britain, China, and others, over $3 billion was spent on the opposition effort in Afghanistan by the U.S.

The ISI, Pakistan’s intelligence service, was the intermediary for the activities conducted during Operation Cyclone. While it is easily to image a large American force training the Mujahideen, only about 10 CIA operatives were in the region because the Agency didn’t want to have the threat of being blamed if something went wrong. With American and other international funding, the ISI trained and armed over 100,000 Mujahideen.

Philip and Elizabeth Jennings On “The Americans”

Aftermath:

At the current point “The Americans” is at, I do not want to overextend what I feel is necessary information. In the future I may write another article, a sort-of Part 2, covering 1983-1989, but I do not see that coming in the foreseeable future.

Now, I leave you in the trustworthy hands of the creators, directors, and producers, Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, to reveal how the events in Afghanistan in the 1980s are very relevant and influential to today’s world.

“The Americans” is currently airing on FX Wednesday nights at 10 PM EST.

Khanh Ha is a different type of author. While some authors focus on sales, others, like Ha, write to break old boundaries and push forward literary achievement. Ha made great literary progress with his first novel, Flesh, but now, instead of falling into a ‘sophomore slump’, he has written something unprecedented.

The Demon Who Peddled Longing is set in post-war Vietnam, a nation overrun by Khmer pirates, thieves, and other malevolent beings. It follows the story of 19-year-old Nam, a young fisherman who embarks on a path of vengeance on 2 drifters who violently raped and killed his cousin, who he also shared romantic feelings with. The story begins with Nam in the Plain of Reeds, where he is stumbled upon by an abnormal fisherwoman. While assisting her and earning money Nam plans his next steps in pursuit of the drifters. When the partnership ends badly, Nam runs away from the fisherwoman and on to the South.

On the journey to Southern Vietnam, Nam meets many people, good people who have had their hearts turned black due to the longings their soul carries. This is where also we see the devastation a corrupt and violent government (Communists) and outlaws can inflict upon innocent lives. Nam’s presence in each of these lives both alleviates the darkness in their hearts but also further escalates some already tense situations.

Whether it be through the colorful markets of cities or the remote fishing villages on the coasts, Nam is always on the lookout for his cousin’s killers. When the boy uncovers the truth of his cousin’s death, he becomes a man with his own compass to guide the direction of his life. This independence lasts until the pain of further longing and oppression reveals to us all that none of us are truly in complete control and often fate isn’t black in white, but grey, in its outcome.

The Demon Who Peddled Longing is truly a literary masterpiece. Utilizing very immersive visuals and the imprint the senses leaves on each of us, the novel delivers an unconventional epic of vengeance, longing, and compassion. The dialogue, which at first may confuse a reader, emerges to enhance the writing to make it a very organic and rhythmic read.

Khanh Ha is masterful and unmatched in his ability to show how violence can lead to atonement and how, like a lotus flower, beauty can arise from the deepest depths of darkness. His writing style and structure is something unseen before, giving the reader a more realistic story of how no one is in complete control of their life’s path and how compassion and redemption can still arise out of the darkness of longing and oppression.

Khanh Ha: Author Bio

Khanh Ha studied Journalism at Ohio University and learned the craft of writing under Daniel Keyes (Flowers for Algernon) and Walter Tevis (The Man Who Fell to Earth). He is the author of Flesh (2012, Black Heron Press) and The Demon Who Peddled Longing (2014, Underground Voices). Khanh Ha is a five-time Pushcart nominee, a Best Indie Lit New England nominee, and the recipient of Greensboro Review’s 2014 ROBERT WATSON LITERARY PRIZE IN FICTION. His work, The Demon Who Peddled Longing, was honored by Shelf Unbound as a NOTABLE INDIE BOOK.